Daily Pilot Girls' Volleyball Dream Team: Humphreys leads way

One day she watched the women's volleyball Final Four inside the KFC Yum! Center. The next day she competed in the same arena, on the same court.

As one of 24 senior girls, Humphreys played in the Under Armour High School All-America Volleyball Match on Dec. 14. Talk about an experience for the Corona del Mar High setter.

"It was a real cool atmosphere," Humphreys said. "[Fans] didn't fill the arena as much as they did for the NCAA semifinal matches [between Oregon and Penn State, and Texas and Michigan], but there was a big Jumbotron and you could see your face on the screen."

For once, Humphreys didn't have to worry about the ball hitting the ceiling. No longer will she have to deal with small high school gyms as she is bound for Stanford after wrapping up an impressive CdM career.

Humphreys is the Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year in girls' volleyball. She made the Dream Team for the second straight year.

In Humphreys' final season, she amassed 888 assists and earned first-team Under Armour All-America, first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA, first-team All-Orange County and Pacific Coast League MVP honors. All that was missing from Humphreys' standout season was a CIF Southern Section title.

Humphreys led the Sea Kings to another deep run in the playoffs, only to fall short of the ultimate prize again. The program made the jump to Division 1-AA, the section's highest, and it reached the semifinals and lost at top-seeded Redondo Union in three sets.

"I think we exceeded a lot of expectations," said Humphreys, adding that while CdM advanced to the section title match in her junior and freshman season, it was in lower divisions. "The competition was hard [in Division 1-AA] and we handled it very well. We battled every team."

Two battles that stood out to Humphreys this season went four sets at CdM (28-7, 10-0 in league), which won the league crown.

The biggest match is always the Battle of the Bay against rival Newport Harbor. In the annual contest, Humphreys helped CdM beat the Sailors for the third straight year.

The other match came in the quarterfinals against Mater Dei. The previous two matchups the private school swept CdM each time.

To make things more interesting, Humphreys' younger brother, Ben, attends Mater Dei, where he's a rising football star.

At the start of last month's match, Ben was on Mater Dei's side. After the Sea Kings won the first set, Ben switched allegiances.

"He came over to the CdM side," said Humphreys, who dished out 52 assists in the Sea Kings' upset victory against fourth-seeded Mater Dei. "He had a CdM shirt underneath his jacket and he brought out a sign that said 'Family First' with a picture of me on it."

The Humphreys sure seem to stick together. They also seem to go to Stanford after high school.

Kelsey is the next in the family. Her mother, Wendy, and father, Brad, played for the Cardinal. Wendy stood out in volleyball and Brad in football.

"They didn't pressure me to go there," Humphreys said of her mother, who earned All-American honors as a setter, and father, who earned All-Pac 10 honors as a safety. "I could've gone to another school and probably started right away or had a better chance of playing right away, but I decided to go to a school that has a strong program and strong academics. I like the idea of a challenge."

Below are the rest of the players on this year's Dream Team:

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Haley Hodson

OH/Corona del Mar

The sophomore outside hitter stood out on a talented senior-laden CdM team. Hodson led the Sea Kings to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs. She finished with an area-best 453 kills and made the all-tournament teams at the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas and the Torrey Pines Asics California Challenge in San Diego. Hodson earned first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA, second-team All-Orange County and first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors. She is a repeat Dream Team selection.

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Maggie Danner

OH/Sage Hill

The senior outside hitter delivered her best two performances during the stretch run of Sage Hill's second straight CIF Southern Section title appearance. Danner averaged 24.5 kills, 12.5 digs and 3.5 service aces in Sage Hill's Division 3-A semifinal and final playoff matches. She produced 266 kills, 47 aces and 32 blocks. Danner is bound for Amherst College in Massachusetts. Danner earned first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division 3-A and first-team All-Academy League honors.

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Grace Kennedy

OH/Corona del Mar

The senior outside hitter gave CdM another offensive weapon and she peaked at the right time, during the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs. Then-coach Marissa Booker said Kennedy's best match was a 13-kill, 17-dig effort in the Sea Kings' sweep of Lakewood in the second round. She finished with 203 kills and made the all-tournament team at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions. Kennedy is bound for Stanford. Kennedy earned All-Orange County honorable mention and first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors.

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Torey Thompson

S/Newport Harbor

The senior setter elevated her play after Newport Harbor lost three standouts to graduation, and then her sister, Tristen, to a knee injury. Thompson helped the Sailors qualify for the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs. In the first round at Marlborough of Los Angeles, Thompson amassed 51 assists, six kills, four digs and two aces. She finished with an area-best 984 assists, to go with 75 digs, 61 kills and 25 aces. Thompson earned All-Orange County honorable mention and first-team All-Sunset League honors.

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Hunter Jennings

L/Newport Harbor

The senior libero stepped in and performed quite admirably for Newport Harbor, which lost standout Tatum Norton to graduation. Jennings always seemed to collect double-digit digs, including a dozen in the Battle of the Bay against CdM and 19 in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA playoffs against Marlborough. Jennings finished with 257 digs and 17 aces. She is bound for the University of San Diego. Jennings earned All-Orange County honorable mention and first-team All-Sunset League honors.

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Halland McKenna

OH/Sage Hill

The sophomore outside hitter played a vital role to Sage Hill making a run at a second straight CIF Southern Section title. McKenna combined for 22 kills, 40 digs and 11 aces in Sage Hill's Division 3-A quarterfinal and semifinal playoff matches on the road, both went five sets. She recorded 286 kills, 335 digs, 67 aces and 16 blocks. Playing on an injured ankle, she hammered 10 kills in the section finale loss to St. Margaret's. McKenna made first-team All-Academy League.